Gamespot recently received several new screenshots from Master of Orion III, Infogrames' and Quicksilver's upcoming space empire strategy title, and were kind enough to post them for all to see. Included in the shots are various alien portraits, some spacecraft, and several strategy screens.

The shown species range from vaguely humanoid to utterly bizarre. One shot shows a species that could almost pass for human, if it wasn't for the obsidian skin and glowing green eyes. Two other characters shown seem to be artificial intelligences of some kind, as they are both composed entirely out of mechanical parts.

The spacecraft shown are no less bizarre. One of them, with batlike wings and a bulky design, could almost pass for something out of the Wright Bros. design portfolio. Another ship featured looks like it was carved entirely out of crystal.

What's sure to get heads spinning are the various strategy/planning screenshots. One of the shots shows Ground Combat information, detailing the statistics of both the attackers and the defenders, which include everything from collateral damage to battle intensity. Another shot shows the Military Information for a planet named Minos III, which includes various bases, the commanding admiral, and what units are available.

A general planet overview information screenshot of some kind is also shown, which displays the stats for several planets, including gravity, regions, and richness. Particularly noteworthy in this shot is the list of filters at the bottom of the screen, which can be checked on and off for easier planet sorting. Some of these filters include Biodiversity, 2+ Starlanes, Safe Route, Within Borders, and Preferred Gravity.

The final new information screenshot shown displays two more subversive tactics at the player's disposal: Secret Police and Disinformation. The Secret Police have monitoring options such as Enemy Agents, Friendly Leaders, Political Factions, and Slaves. Disinformation contains resources such as Propoganda and Strategic Deception.

For those that can't wait for MOO3 to come out, these screenshots are definitely worth a look. The various species screenshots alone are well done, and the information screens are so detailed that they might have some players struggling to take it all in, though doubtless this will only excite others. MacSoft currently has the rights to the Mac version of this title, though an official announcement concerning the release date has yet to be made.